Luke the beloved physician shared how “certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered” Paul. ”And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seems to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof you speak, is? For you bring certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”, and in chapter seventeen and verse twenty-two of the book of Acts Luke wrote, “then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill” where we read:
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said,
You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.
The verse begins, “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, ...” Luke began with the words, “then Paul” which means “at that time Paul whose name means small or little” “stood in the midst of Mars' hill” or “raised to his feet in the middle of Areopagus known as Mars' hill”, “and said” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed” the following words. Luke shared how “Paul” stood to his feet in the middle of the philosophers on “Mars' hill” where discussions were made and presented about thoughts and ideas.
The verse goes on to say, “... You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.” Luke continued with the words, “you men of Athens” or “you, male human beings, who are citizens or visitors in Athens”, “I perceive that in all things” which means “I, Paul, look at, behold, view mentally and consider that in each, every, the whole and everything” “you are too superstitious” or “you, men of Athens, exists as pious or religious in the sense of reverencing gods”. Luke shared how “Paul” acknowledged and noted his perception that the “men of Athens” were pious and religious in the sense of reverencing and worshiping gods.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn what “Paul” did when he was given audience upon “Areopagus” or “Mars' hill”. As was their practice, the men of Athens met in this place to share and hear ideas and thoughts , and “Paul” stood up and began his discourse by acknowledging the “religious” practices of the Athenians. We shall see more of “Paul's” words in our next verses, but for now let us address the idea of being “religious” in some form or another. God knows people “worship” or give obeisance to something, and to whatever they give their time, money, energy and thoughts can easily become a “god” in their lives. God desires to be the One True God in the lives of people through obedience to His Son Jesus. When a person yields to Jesus, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life. No other “god” insures the eternal future of Heaven after death, and those who are wise will examine their lives to be certain the One True God is foremost in their worship and yielding to His Son Jesus is their priority.
Next time Luke shares how Paul, “found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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